Dust-up over KTRM release On the eve of the final weekend before the Aug. 5 Republican Party primary, a group called Kansas Traditional Republican Majority issued a news release alleging a link between Republican candidates Phill Kline, Jim Ryun and an organization whose leader allegedly was associated with white supremacists groups.Media covering the campaigns did not report the release, but it caused a stir in the blogosphere. The conservative Kansas Republican Assembly blasted the KTRM for making the allegations.And the KRA was upset that apparently it wasn’t until several days after the election that Kansas Republican Party officials condemned KTRM. KRA was also upset that prominent Republicans had contributed money to the KTRM. Both Kline, running for the GOP nomination for district attorney in Johnson County, and Ryun, running for his party’s nomination in the 2nd Congressional District, lost their races. Kline was defeated by a wide margin, but Ryun was in a close contest with State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.KTRM started in late 2005 saying it would try to defeat “extremists” in the GOP and represented the core values of the Republican Party. The group said it would focus on limited government, individual freedoms, lower taxes, strong schools and responsible spending.KTRM’s executive director is Ryan Wright, a former press secretary for U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, and former spokesman for Jenkins at the treasury department.Wright said he had no apologies about the news release. Meanwhile, the Kansas Republican Party is not commenting on the matter. Apparently the criticism that party officials made about the KTRM was sent to party insiders.”This whole situation is something we have decided to take care of inside the Republican family and will keep it that way,” state GOP executive director Christian Morgan said in an e-mail. “We are 100 percent focused on victory in November. That goes for KTRM, KRA and everyone in between,” Morgan said.Rough couple of weeks for NBAFU.S. Department of Homeland Security officials say they are on track for determining by the end of the year a site for the proposed $450 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, commonly referred to as NBAF.But it has been a rough couple of weeks for NBAF supporters, including those in Kansas who hope the federal government will pick Kansas State University as the facility’s home.This week, the Associated Press reported that the political influence of powerful congressmen may have figured into Mississippi getting in the final group of possible sites, instead of the merits of the proposals.And while Homeland Security officials have sworn the laboratory, which will be used to study dangerous pathogens, will have the highest security level, recent developments have given NBAF opponents more arguments.Federal officials say it was a researcher at a bio lab in Maryland who was responsible for the anthrax attacks in 2001 And this week, news reports said a woman with links to al-Qaida, who had been arrested in Afghanistan, had a list of potential targets, including the Plum Island, N.Y., animal disease research lab that Homeland Security wants to replace.Energy group debates rate recoveryThe Kansas Energy Council this week had a spirited debate over a proposal offered by state Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence.The measure would have recommended that the Legislature and Kansas Corporation Commission allow utilities to recover from ratepayers the costs of energy conservation and carbon capture experimentation at their plants.But KEC member David Springe, who also is consumer counsel for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, strongly objected, saying the proposal would result in “extra shareholder profits.” Others argued it would allow utilities to charge ratepayers for research and development. Sloan’s proposal was defeated on a 12-11 vote. The KEC then took out the financial incentives and approved simply recommending that the Legislature and KCC encourage utilities to try to conserve energy, experiment with carbon capture and increase efficiency at their plants.Local fossil hunter finds local votesAlan Detrich, fossil hunter and artist from Lawrence, was defeated in his bid for the Republican Party nomination to run for a seat on the State Board of Education, but he says he feels good about the results.He noted that he actually got more votes in Douglas County than GOP primary winner Robert Meissner of Topeka”The people that know me voted for me. I’m just delighted that the smartest county in the state of Kansas voted for me,” Detrich said.In Douglas County, Detrich led Meissner 61 percent to 39 percent. But overall, Meissner defeated Detrich, 77 percent to 23 percent.